Zena Oaks

Accomplishment: Protection of a 1,466-acre property in the Eola Hills that includes one of the largest blocks of mixed hardwood and conifer forests in the Willamette Valley.

Location: Eola Hills (Polk County), northwest of Salem.

Partners: Trust for Public Land, Bonneville Power Administration, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Notes: The Zena Forest property in the Eola Hills includes remnant oak savannas and woodlands within a diverse conifer forest straddling a ridge northwest of Salem. The Trust for Public Land purchased the property, valued at $8.6 million, in 2007 and plans eventually to transfer it to a conservation owner under terms that that would protect ecological values in conjunction with some continued management for sustainable forestry. The Bonneville Power Administration funded the purchase through its wildlife habitat mitigation program, administered by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The site includes habitat for several threatened and endangered species, but it may be even more important for landbird habitat conservation in a part of the Willamette Valley that is coming under intense development pressures.

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